I find it funny how sometimes the Sibilla just steamrolls you with just three cards. A friend of mine had an appointment at a new psychiatric clinic and wanted to know if the new doctor was any good:
Is the new doctor good?
I don’t there is much need for interpretation here: the change brings her to someone who is her enemy. Doesn’t mean he will tie her to the train track, but he is not reliable (Butterfly). Interestingly, she was under the impression she was going to be visited by a female doctor, but it turned out that one had too much on her hand, so my friend ended up with the male enemy. In her words, he is probably the one who needs a psychiatrist.
There are plenty of cards, in the Vera Sibilla, that can indicate individuals (see here for groups). Here are the most common (keeping in mind that most of the cards have other associations as well, and may indicate concepts or situations):
Seven of Hearts – The Scholar The Scholar can represent the figure of a lawyer, a notary, or more in general a professional. Traditionally he is said to be in his 40s or early 50s, but we need to be flexible with age. He can also be a member of the family or even a partner.
Eight of Hearts – Hope There are two schools of thought concerning the Hope card. According to some it doesn’t represent a woman, while according to others it can (traditionally, a younger or blonde woman). I have found that it is rare for this to be the case, but it could happen.
Nine of Hearts – Faithfulness The Faithfulness card can represent support, and occasionally it will show up alone indicating a concrete someone, i.e., a friend, who shows us support.
Jack of Hearts – The Boyfriend It is common for this card to indicate an actual person, often the unmarried male querent or a male who is in love, or positive, or belonging to the family.
Queen of Hearts – The Girlfriend Same as with the Jack, only applying to women.
King of Hearts – The Gentleman The King of Hearts is traditionally the figure of a protector or benefactor, someone who aids us. He is typically in a good position to do so. He can be a father or loving husband (when upright), but can also represent the married male querent or a boyfriend who is older or has a position in society.
Four of Clubs – The Friend The Friend card can represent friendship as a concept, as well as partnerships and other situations where people come together for a common goal. However, it can often indicate a female friend or relative.
Jack of Clubs – The Servant The Jack often represents a younger man, one up to 30 years of age, or unmarried. However, it can also represent a colleague or friend, regardless of age. It can also indicate a son, if relevant. Usually he is already known to the querent (the Italian word ‘domestico’ can mean servant but it also implies familiarity with the house).
Queen of Clubs – The Maiden The Maidan can be the female counterpart of the Servant, showing a younger unmarried woman, sometimes a daughter.
King of Clubs – The Doctor The Doctor card often indicates health issues or the need to take care of something. However, it can also represent a man with a certain social position or with a degree (if next to a female card, then he turns into a woman with those characteristics). It can show the figure of a professional whose advice or help will be required, or a boss.
Seven of Diamonds – The Child Often it is a metaphorical child, but sometimes the Seven of Diamonds can represent a literal one, usually very young (toddler). It can combine with other cards (the Servant or Maiden, for instance) to indicate a teenager. It is the card of pets as well.
Eight of Diamonds – The Handmaid A card strongly connected with the coming and going of money and with work, the Handmaid can also be the figure of a female colleague or a female servant (like a cleaning lady). Traditionally she is from a different town, but this is not always the case. She can also be a stranger or a foreigner.
Ten of Diamonds – The Thief Rarely a literal person, but in connection with negative cards it can show someone who steals, either literally or metaphorically.
Jack of Diamonds – The Messenger Rarely a person card, the Messenger often heralds the arrival of news and the knowledge of facts. However, it can occasionally represent a young man, traditionally dark-haired.
Queen of Diamonds – The Wife A card that often represents what it says on the tin, the wife shows a woman who is married and may have children. It can indicate a woman who has achieved some level of success (could be a colleague or boss).
King of Diamonds – The Merchant Usually this card signifies the querent’s work life. However, it occasionally signifies a literal merchant or someone who a transactional view of life and relationships.
Two of Spades – The Old Lady Often one of the most complex cards in the deck, the Old Lady has a whole host of metaphorical meanings. The literal meaning, though, is that of representing an older woman, a grandmother, a widow, someone close to retirement, a woman of 60+, and so on. The card can also stand for an ex (your old woman).
Three of Spades – The Widower As with the Old Lady, so with the Widower, but for men. It can represent an older man, a grandfather, an ex, a widower or divorced man. It is somewhat rarer for the Widower to be a literal person, compared to the Old Lady.
Ten of Spades – The Soldier Another often cryptic card to interpret, the Soldier can also indicate a young man, in his 30s or early 40s (again, taking it with a pinch of salt), who is muscular or sexy or who wears a uniform. It can also indicate a stranger or a foreigner.
Jack of Spades – The Enemy (male) The male enemy card can stand for a literal enemy, or for someone who is against the querent for some reason, either as a rule or in a particular situation (your uncle whose car you crashed into a tree can be your enemy too, when he finds out). It can also represent a place where people are inimical to the querent.
Queen of Spades – The Enemy (female) Same as with the Jack, but for women.
King of Spades – The Priest The King of Spades often indicates an institution, the government, a judge, etc. It can also sometimes represent an older man who is not inimical to the querent, but who is somewhat cold toward him or her, but is still fair (unless the card is reversed).
In some card-based divination systems, reversals carry a negative connotation. Reversed cards are said to either decrease the influence or deteriorate the positive aspects of the card. The Vera Sibilla does not adhere to this view. Reversed cards have peculiar meanings which may sometimes be even unrelated to the upright counterpart, at least at first (in reality, if you think about it, you will almost always find the correlation).
Consequently, some Sibilla cards are actually better when reversed than when they are upright, at least generally speaking. Sometimes this better connotation is general, while at other times it refers to specific topics. Here are some examples.
Ace of Clubs – Marriage The Ace of Clubs reversed is not automatically better than when upright, and on occasion it may even be worse. However, it carries a connotation of materiality that can be very welcome in readings about wealth or about physical relations (as opposed to legal/spiritual relations when the card is upright.)
Three of Clubs – The Journey The Journey card in the Vera Sibilla usually refers to physical movement, though it can sometimes represent a change of heart or a change of pace. When it falls reversed in a reading, it can indicate trouble when journeying, but its broader meaning is that of positive evolution of a situation. The card is powerfully benefic and it can free us from vicious cycles and other sticky situations.
Four of Clubs – The Friend When upright, the Friend card can refer to a literal (female) friend or to the idea of friendship and support in general. When it is reversed, it indicates help, recommendations, being taken care of. Usually, the help represented by the reversed card is more on the material side, or it can show in the form of a professional’s advice.
Ten of Clubs – Levity The Butterfly is a problematic card in the deck, as it shows lack of focus, fleeting situations. Reversed, it can represent a serious effort, the ability to hold on to your money and, more broadly, to fleeting situations that bring positive chances. If I were to liken this reversed card to a geomantic figure, I would choose Fortuna Minor.
Three of Diamonds – The Gift The Gift card is generally positive when upright. When it is reversed, however, it does not diminish, but rather increases its positive significance. It indicates the solution of problems, especially material problems. When it is upright, the gift usually comes from someone, whereas the reversed Gift card shows the gift coming to us from the situation itself, which becomes more positive or less complicated.
Four of Diamonds – Falsehood The upright Falsehood card is rarely neutral and almost never positive. When it is reversed, however, it shows the positive unmasking of lying, the discovering (usually in time) of hidden factors that could have caused harm and, in general, it shows situations that end with a sigh of relief.
Ace of Spades – Sorrow The Ace of Spades is a very difficult card to receive in one’s reading. When it is reversed, the blow is softened. The sorrow of the title is still there, but it is dimeanished diminished and can be overcome. It is also a symbol of toil and focused struggle or work as opposed with just crying with your head in your hands.
Four of Spades – Sickness When it comes up reversed, the Four of Spades has a variety of meanings, some of which negative, though less legative than when the card is upright. However, when it is followed by positive cards, it can represent the end of a stagnant and blocked situation.
Six of Spades – Sighs My experience has shown that the reversed Six of Spades is one of the most complex cards in the deck. Although it can have negative meanings (see here an example), broadly speaking it indicates the end of sighs. It shows moving on, overcoming torment, accepting what you cannot change, etc.
Nine of Spades – Prison Like the Four of Spades, the Nine of Spades reversed can have a variety of meanings. However, in and by itself, this card represents the end of imprisonment, freedom and having paid your dues/done your time, literally or figuratively.
Sometimes in readings it’s not immediately clear whether the cards start by describing the past, present or future. There are times when they jump immediately into the future, while at other times they only talk about past and present situations and we need to keep adding cards to find out what happens next. More often, though, the cards start with the past/present and then move on to the prediction, or at least this is my experience.
In this case I was asked by a querent if she would find a job. Note that I started with five cards and then added more to get more details, but I here want to concentrate on the first five:
Job Prospects. A Vera Sibilla Reading
The first four cards (Widower, Perseverance, Fortune and Death) deserve special attention. The Widower is the card of “being without”. It also has some affinity with the past, especially when it falls toward the beginning of the spread. The Perseverance card can sometimes indicate that something goes on for a long time (it perseveres). Usually this happens when the cards surrounding it have the same polarity or talk about the same thing.
In this case, the Fortune card is not the same polarity as the Widower, since the former is positive and the latter negative. However, Fortune is followed by Death, showing misfortune or lost chances. In this case, it’s as if Fortune + Death formed a single (negative) card, which is of the same polarity as the Widower.
Therefore the Perseverance card highlights the fact that the querent is without (work) and has been for quite a while, and has repeatedly lost chances or opportunities, or has had repeated misfortunes connected to her career. She confirmed to me that she hadn’t found a job since giving birth to her daughter a few years ago. Actually, she hadn’t looked that much for a job, but whenever she had she had been passed over in favor of someone else.
The Child card is a card of beginning, and in a way it shows the start of a new phase. This fact is highlighted by the Death card being at the end of a negative sequence, so that while it is a negative card in itself (because it follows the Fortune card) it also ends the negative period thanks to being followed by the Child.
The cards following the first five simply described the work environment and the various ups and downs she will face, but they are less interesting.
I already made a post about positive feelings. This is a follow-up on the other side of the coin. As usual, this isn’t meant to be exhaustive. Note that many cards indicating difficult feelings are just reversed cards whose upright meaning is positive.
Three of Hearts Reversed – The Balcony
When upright, the Three of Hearts relates to the sense of sight, both literally and figuratively. Reversed, it can represent someone who is blinded by emotion, especially such emotions as rage or lust (the “red” emotions). It can indicate the inability to control oneself as a result of such emotions.
Four of Hearts Reversed – Love
Aside from being an indication of depravity, the reversed Love card can, and in fact is more commonly found to relate to unrequited feelings, emotional dryness and deep emotional scars from disappointment, usually in love.
Seven of Hearts Reversed – The Scholar
Upright, the Scholar card represents the mind in its best aspects of intelligence, creativity and having a solid grip on reality and on one’s problems. When it is reversed, it represents either someone who is cold and calculating (the lower octave of the mind) or someone who feels impotent and easily overwhelmed by problems.
Eight of Hearts Reversed – Hope
When reversed, the Eight of Hearts is a harbinger of sorrow, disappointment and unfulfilled hopes and wishes. Being a card that is strongly connected with one’s inner optimism, the reversed Hope card becomes one of pessimism or even of mild depression (by itself).
Nine of Hearts Reversed – Faithfulness
Upright, the Dog card of the Sibilla indicates friendship and loyalty, as well as deep and strong attachment to someone, something or an idea. Reversed, it is an indicator of rebellion, unreliability and biting the hand that feeds you, from thankless teens to political activists depending on the context.
Ten of Hearts Reversed – Perseverance
Upright, the Ten of Hearts can indicate solid, reliable people, lasting feelings and certainty. When it falls reversed in a reading, the Ten of Hearts become an indication of turmoil and of not being able to control oneself, one’s instinct and one’s rage.
Two of Clubs Reversed – The Peacock
When it comes up reversed, the Peacock card embodies the negative side of the symbolism of the animal, namely pride, haughtiness, an inflated ego that is easily slighted and self-centeredness. Depending on the surrounding cards this can go from a mild drama-queen complex to serious pathological deviancy.
Seven of Clubs Reversed – Realization
The Upright Seven of Clubs represents our realization in the world, our ambitions and our sense of accomplishment. When it comes up reversed, it shows insecurity, dissatisfaction with one’s existence, and fear, especially understood as feeling under attack in one’s life projects.
Eight of Clubs Reversed – The Reunion
Reversed, the Reunion card has many difficult meanings relating to groups and one’s social contacts. However, it is also a card of disillusion, sadness and depression. It represents someone who has lost momentum and is prey to inner turmoil, self-doubt and similar feelings.
Nine of Clubs Reversed – Merriment
Coming up reversed in a reading, the Nine of Clubs reverses the hakuna matata feeling of its upright counterpart. It becomes a card of joylessness, and it can also represent feeling isolated from others, sometimes even as a consequence of other people taking shots at us.
Four of Diamonds –Falsehood
The Falsehood of this card must be understood broadly as a feeling of “wrongness” and negativity. In this sense it is the opposite of the Dog card. It represents being ill-disposed or displeased with something, and negative feelings brewing right below the surface.
Five of Diamonds – Melancholy
The title speaks for itself. Upright, the card can be an indicator of disappointment, sadness, pining, melancholy and dissatisfaction. By itself it is not a tragic card, but it does slow you down. Reversed, the card becomes much more impactful and its effects long-lasting.
Seven of Diamonds Reversed – The Child
When it falls reversed, the Child card embodies the negative side of children: childishness, in the main, but also a general sense of inexperience and that the world is too complex for us to understand and tackle.
Nine of Diamonds – The Fools
The Fools indicate feelings of unwarranted exaltation and self-confidence, mistaken conceptions, as well as easily aroused feelings of aggression. They depict a volatile atmosphere where things can go seriously south.
Ten of Diamonds – The Thief
The Thief is a card of betrayal, whether literal or metaphorical. It represents ill-will toward someone or something, and the desire to do wrong things. This needn’t be tragic, as there are many situations where the sneakiness of the Thief borders on amorality rather than immorality. Still, this card is always a warning.
Ace of Spades – Sorrow
The Sorrow card is the card of tears, of the broken heart and of the sense of being cut off from one’s source of happiness. In itself it is a very difficult card to go through, but when not piled on by other problematic cards it can show just a sense of discouragement that the person can muscle through with some mental discipline.
Three of Spades – The Widower
Another difficult card, the Widower represents isolation, loneliness and serious interpersonal issues. Being the card that signifies “oneness” and the single individual, sometimes it can show things done alone, with no negative connotation, but more often than not it foretells difficulties in one’s loneliness. When reversed, it becomes a rather tragic card.
Four of Spades – Sickness
Although this is the card that indicates literal sickness, it can also be interpreted metaphorically on occasion. It often signifies feeling sick, disturbed or down, but it can also be the card of sick and morbid feelings which cannot find a healthy expression.
Six of Spades – Sighs
Among the less difficult Spades in the deck, the Six of Spades represents everything we desperately long for and await, hoping it will come to us. It is a less serene version of the Eight of Hearts, as it contrasts its composure with a sense of uncertainty and fear of losing what one wishes to get.
Seven of Spades – Tragedy
Another card of “red” feelings, this one indicates anger and wrath. It shows explosive energy disrupting one’s life, which, from an emotional standpoint, usually signifies that we are feeling slighted or wronged or somehow unable to restrain our ire.
Eight of Spades – Desperation and Jealousy
In the main, the Eight of Spades is a card of literal jealousy and envy, but it can represent all those situations where we look at others with toxic feelings in our heart. It can also signify desperation and tears, and a sense of being trapped in a corner with no way out.
Sometimes the Sibilla’s chattiness is exasperating: there you are, trying to get a straight answer about whether he loves you or not, and she just wastes your time telling you about what his aunt thinks about the whole thing. At other times, though, the Sibilla is a drama queen in the type of language she uses. Here’s a simple example of the latter behavior.
It’s an old reading from at least ten years ago, when a friend and I were relatively fresh out of college. She had been desperately looking for work for some time but without success, and, like most desperate people, she’d started looking in unconventional places. She’d answered an ad that would require her to move to Poland or the Czech Republic (can’t remember) for a stage followed by a part-time offer if all went well.
The first contact was by phone, yet she had some suspicions. She didn’t seem to be able to get a straight answer out of the guy interviewing her. So she asked me to pull some cards on the dude, and here’s what came up:
Can I trust him? Vera Sibilla Reading
I don’t think we need much interpretation to see that there’s something fishy at best about the offer, and at worst it’s a total swindle. The Thief and the Enemy can obviously show anything from an actual thief to a mobster to an assassin, depending on the other cards. Here we have no hint of violence, so we’ll stop at swindle.
The most interesting card here, though, is the reversed Six of Spades. When it is upright, the Six of Spades represents someone who sighs after someone or something, whether because he or she longs for it or because they have pangs of conscience about it.
When it is reversed, the Six of Spades can be a good card if surrounded by positive cards: it can indicate letting go of an addiction, for instance, or of an unrequited love. Broadly speaking, it indicates not sighing anymore.
In this case, though, the reversed Sighs card is surrounded by terrible cards, cards that indicate someone who would hurt others, at least financially, for his own profit. Therefore, the Six of Spades reversed simply shows he has no pangs of conscience about it, which in turn makes him even more dangerous.
Well, my friend did some snooping around and she soon came into contact with other people who had answered the ad. By piecing together the information they had, it turned out that it was a swindle. I am not sure what would have happened, had they gone to the “stage”. Probably they would have been duped out of some money. Anyway, I’m sure glad she didn’t go.
In the Vera Sibilla there are a couple of cards that connect more or less directly to the topic of work. Here we review them quickly to show their similarities and differences. As usual, this isn’t meant to be exclusive.
Six of Hearts – Money
Not directly related to work per se, the Six of Hearts is the money card, and as such it shows where money comes from, where it goes, whether one has it or not, etc. However, in a consultation about work, it can also indicate whether the pay is good or not, whether the business one works for flourishes or not, etc.
Seven of Hearts – The Scholar
This card is always welcome when we want to know whether we’ll get a job, as it can show the signing of a contract. It is also related to talent in one’s field, as well as certain types of job (intellectual or desk jobs).
Ace of Clubs – Marriage
Again a card that can represent the signing of something. Marriage is anything that gives us rights and obligations with respect to someone else, and a job contract is exactly that. It is also an important card for business deals and partnerships
Six of Clubs – The Surprise
This is a small money card, but because it represents money being received, it can symbolize the wages and therefore being employed. For instance, together with the House card it can sometimes represent the place where you gain money, i.e. the workplace.
Seven of Clubs – Realization
The Seven of Clubs is the card of worldly ambition and it can therefore stand for the querent’s career (I’m always reminded that in German the word Beruf, work, comes from the word Ruf, fame, the name you make for yourself in the world).
Eight of Diamonds – The Handmaid
This is another card that is strongly connected with money and where it comes from and where goes toward, but it is also a card of employment (a handmaid works for someone else). When it signifies the querent’s work, it is essentially a synonym of the Merchant card.
King of Diamonds – The Merchant
This is THE work card, the one you usually want to see in a question about work, and four times out of five, when it pops up in a different kind of question it still indicates the influence of the querent’s job on question, though the card also has other less common meanings.
King of Spades – The Priest
Not directly related to the querent’s job, but this card can represent the institution or company the querent works for (especially if it is relatively big). Needless to say it can stand for many other things, such as works related with the law or religion (with specific cards) or even works where one wears a uniform (the Soldier also represents a uniform, but usually it shows less socially important types of employment, such as being a builder).
One of the things I enjoy the most about cartomancy (not just with the Sibilla. Most decks will do it) is how they tell a story of the querent’s life, either in general or in a particular sector, and we get to experience it as if it were a slide show of someone’s vacation. Here is an example about a querent who asked, generally, about her career (don’t mind the chaotic layout. The cards are essentially to be read in a row. I started with five cards and I had to rearrange the spread to take the picture once the layout had become too unwieldy from drawing additional cards).
A career reading with the Vera Sibilla
The first thing that caught my eye was that Scholar (Seven of Hearts) showing a legal contract, caught between the reversed Sickness card and the Death card. I enquired if the querent had recently lost her job or if she was about to, then the King of Spades (the law) popped into view, next to the Death card which shows unbalanced things, so I added if she considered the termination to be wrongful in some way.
It turned out that the querent had just been fired, a couple of weeks prior, from her job and that she thought they had fired her after wringing her dry of her business contacts.
Notice, though, how the cards immediately clear up as soon as that nasty initial constellation is overcome: we have important contacts (Letter and Messenger) that will put her on the right track (the Peacock). There is still anxiety (Sighs) surrounding her work (Merchant) but she is going to get a temporary job (the Five of Hearts) probably working with people (all the people cards) and that will solve quite a bit of her problems (the Four of Diamonds reversed at the end).
She ended up getting in contact with a smaller business than the one she had worked for, but one with a more positive environment, where the boss offered her a very well-paid temporary position to be a representative of their product to new clients. I also told her that if she was thinking of suing her old employers for wrongful termination, she probably had a leg to stand on. She said she was thinking of suing, but wasn’t sure.
We’ve already talked about the cards in the Vera Sibilla deck that indicate change. Now let’s see which indicate stability. As usual, do not take this as an attempt at exhausting the meanings of the cards. We are just comparing some similarities.
Two of Hearts – The House
Your house is, of course, pretty much the most stable thing in your life, considering its imposing structure. The Two of Hearts therefore represents stability, especially in love readings: it shows serious intents, the desire to start a family and a constructive attitude. It represents those couples that stay together and work out their problems together. It is, therefore, a positive stability.
Nine of Hearts – Faithfulness
Unlike the Love card, the Nine of Hearts show stable success, especially in love, and it represents deep attachment to someone or even something (this is the card of patriotism, attachment to ideology, etc.) On a less positive note, when surrounded by difficult cards, it can show those difficult situations remaining faithful to us, while in fact we’d much rather they cheated on us.
Ten of Hearts – Perseverance
This is THE card of stability. When surrounded by positive cards, it shows that those positive situations will persevere, but unfortunately the same applies to negative cards. Either way, the Ten of Hearts indicates a situation that perseveres. It also shows constancy of character.
Two of Clubs – The Peacock
Due to its symbolism of completeness and totality, which is similar to that of the World card, the Peacock represents situations that reach their peak, their complete perfection, and if it is not followed by negative cards it says that the situation will stay that way for the forseeable future.
Seven of Clubs – Realization
A card of strong material realization, the Seven of Clubs is responsible for the concretization of our aspirations, allowing them to take root in our life. In general, when surrounded by bad cards, it indicates the lack of this kind of stability rather than the stabilization of the negative things (such as was the case with the Ten of Hearts).
Ten of Diamonds Reversed – The Thief
When reversed, the Thief card represents, in the main, insurmountable problems. It therefore indicates situations that remains blocked, possibly forever depending on the other cards. Therefore, the stability brought by this card is always negative, as it shows situations that are unlikely to ever improve.
Four of Spades Upright/Reversed – The Sickness
When upright, the Four of Spades signifies sickness, but also a situation that is structurally compromised and is therefore unable to flourish or to offer positive solutions. When reversed, it is a card of long blockages and delays, among other things, so it indicates being stalled, isolated, unable to change a situation.
Nine of Spades – The Prison
The Prison card indicates something binding us, restricting us, whether physically, mentally or emotionally. It represents tight bonds (sometimes, when surrounded by positive cards, even positive bonds). More generally, it shows obstacles that last a long time, and therefore situations that stagnate. Similarly to the reversed Four of Spades, it can show isolation.
Change is a vague concept. Much of contemporary occultism is predicated on the equation of change and stability, so that essentially everything is change. Still, even if we subscribe to this notion, our everyday life is made up of things that change relatively as opposed to things that remain relatively stable. It may be true that my body is a Swiss cheese of chaotic particles constantly being swapped with new ones, but from the standpoint of our daily experience, my body is a relative constant.
Therefore, divination does deal with what changes and what stays the same. Here I talk about cards that indicate change. As usual, the list is not meant to be exhaustive.
Ace of Hearts Reversed – The Conversation
When upright, the Ace of Hearts, aside from being the card of words, represents a relatively stable situation (as indicated symbolically by the table in the image). When reversed, the Ace of Hearts represents change, transformation, revolution. This may be good or bad, depending on the cards that follow.
Two of Hearts Reversed – The House
Again, when upright this card indicates a house, a very stable thing. When reversed, it shows instability. This time the connotation is quite negative, as it can indicate a couple breaking up, a family falling out, and similar situations depending on the other cards. This is rarely a positive card when reversed.
Five of Hearts – Happiness
As I discussed in the article for this card, the Five of Hearts is the card of commitment to someone or something. Traditionally it is the card of engagement, a transition phase between being single and being married. As such, the Happiness card symbolizes a positive, happy transition (when upright). It often rids us of problems and shows fidelity and the ability to honor commitments.
Ten of Hearts Reversed – Perseverance
When upright, the Ten of Hearts represents things that persevere, go on, stabilize. When reversed it shows situations going legs up, becoming shaky or stormy. It is a wildly negative card of volatile emotions and deep instability.
Three of Clubs Upright or Reversed – The Journey
When upright, the Journey card is indicative of travel, that is, change of place. However, it also indicates physical movement, or even mental movement, such as changing one’s mind. It is a card of transition, seen in a neutral to slightly positive sense (but always take the other cards into account). When reversed, the Journey card becomes intensely positive, representing the interruption of negative trends, freedom from addiction or vicious cycles in general. It represents situations starting to evolve in a positive direction, unless followed by very negative cards.
Five of Clubs Upright or Reversed – Fortune
Representing the power of fate in our life, the Five of Clubs is emblematic of strokes of luck, situations taking a different (usually positive) turn, things getting into motion in a positive way. When reversed, the card is slowed down and weakened, and it acquires the meaning of long-term transformations.
Ten of Clubs Reversed – Levity
Much like the Fortune card, the Ten of Clubs reversed represents strokes of luck shaking up the routine, offering us opportunities and chances. Its power, however, is much smaller.
Five of Diamonds – Melancholy
The Melancholy card is rather static in itself, especially when hemmed in by cards indicating a negative situation. However, it can also show situations which were once positive and are starting to show some cracks or situations that are negative but which won’t be negative forever. Therefore, in spite of its mild negativity, often the card implies future change.
Eight of Diamonds – The Handmaid
A symbol of social and personal ascent thanks to its symbolism of the stairs, the Handmaid indicates positive evolution, transition from one phase to the next, entering new segments of one’s life. This is especially true when it shows between cards indicating different situations, or when it shows up at the beginning of a spread. In general it represents positive change.
Two of Spades – The Old Lady
It may seem strange to find the static Old Lady card on this list. However, when we think about it, the Two of Spades is about things that are old and are reaching their natural conclusion. When followed by cards indicating a different situation, therefore, the Old Lady can act as a card of transition (for instance, showing that a contract is expiring.)
Four of Spades Reversed – Sickness
The Sickness card reversed is usually a card of deep stasis and blockage. There is, however, one exception: when it is preceded by negative cards and followed by positive cards. In this case, it indicates the end of the negative situation (tha situation is blocked in favor of what followed.) Of course, when the situation is reversed, i.e., with positive cards before and negative ones after, it shows a change for the worse.
Five of Spades – Death
The most archetypal card of change, the Death card usually indicates a sharp and often difficult cut in one’s life. The result is not necessarily bad, as the outcome depends on what follows. However, since it is a Spade card, it is always difficult and comes at a great price.
Six of Spades Reversed – Sighs
When upright, the Sighs card signifies sighing for something, pining and waiting. It is very static. When reversed, one of its (many) meanings is of showing the end of sighing. This doesn’t necessarily mean you get what you’ve been sighing for. Often, it shows giving up on something and moving on, letting go of it.
Seven of Spades – Tragedy
In spite of its name, the Seven of Spades can indicate a sharp turn for the better if followed by positive cards (if followed by negative ones then, yes, it can indicate being struck by tragedy). What it does imply is that the situation followed by the other cards strikes us from the outside, without us planning it, and usually in a very sudden way.
Nine of Spades Reversed – The Prison
This card acts in very much the same way as the Sickness card reversed. Attention must be paid to the cards preceding and following it.
